The disclosure relates to a device for retaining a foot or boot on a sports apparatus. In particular, the disclosure relates to a binding for receiving and retaining a foot or boot onto a sports apparatus such as a sports board.
A typical sports board binding includes a base plate to support the sole of a user's foot or boot. In the case of a snowboard binding, the binding is attached to a snowboard by coupling the base plate of the binding to a retaining disc that is fixedly mounted on the snowboard. The retaining disc fits within a fixed-size aperture in the binding's base plate such that the base plate is fixed between the retaining disc and the snowboard to retain the binding to the snowboard.
In conventional binding systems, it can often be cumbersome and time consuming to remove a previously-attached binding from a snowboard. Removal of the binding from a snowboard typically requires the use of tools that are used to tighten and untighten screws or other attachment means on the base plate and rental disc. However, in many circumstances, it is necessary to attach and/or detach a binding from a snowboard in a quick and easy manner. For example, there is a growing use of rental bindings where a customer rents a binding that is then attached to the snowboard in a particular orientation for a given customer at the point of use. The rental shop understandably desires to attach and/or detach the rental binding from the renter's snowboard in a quick and easy manner in order to increase throughput of the rental binding process. The need for tools or other cumbersome attachment/detachment mechanisms can be time consuming and slow down the throughput of a rental shop.
EP 0 756 882 A1 proposes a snowboard binding having a U-shaped base plate forming two flexible wings having a longitudinal opening therebetween and a circular aperture for engaging a circular retaining disc. The two wings can be forced against the retaining disc by means of a screw, which is operated by a handle. A similar binding is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,552. Another approach is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,416 A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,749 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,488 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,237 A, U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,531 B1, US 2005/0093257 A1, FR 26 27 097 A1, FR 27 43 306 A1, EP 0 815 905 A2, WO 2000/04964 and WO 97/33664.
All these publications disclose a snowboard binding where a releasable locking between a base plate and a fixed retaining disc is made by an additional movable locking member, which is either attached on the base plate or on the retaining disc and which releasable locking member connects the base plate and the retaining disc to each other.
Still another approach is shown in EP 0 840 640 B1, DE 103 13 342 A1, EP 0 761 261 A1 and WO 02/070087 A1, where a retaining disc can be partially lifted vertically from the plane of the base plate to partially release the retaining disc from the base plate by means of a tensioning lever for rotational adjustment of the binding.
Finally, WO 2008/001027 A1, published after the priority date of the present invention, proposes an adjustable snowboard binding having a fixed retaining disc with upwards directed frusto-conical teeth mating with downwards directed frusto-conical teeth on a base plate. The retaining disc has a circular nut below the teeth. On the base plate there is attached a sliding plate, which is positioned under the retaining disc to grip into said circular nut. The sliding plate is connected to a release cable for removing it out of the nut. When the sliding plate is in the release position the base plate can be tilted for disengagement of the teeth of the base plate from the teeth of the retaining disc, permitting a rotational movement of the base plate with respect to the retaining disc.
All these above mentioned snowboard bindings allow a rotational adjustment of the binding but not an easy removal of the whole binding from the snowboard. In addition, some of the above mentioned bindings are relatively complex in structure.